The 2020 season has had more downs than ups for the San Francisco 49ers. Injuries have ravaged the team's roster, and the defending NFC champions no longer have much to defend. They have been eliminated from playoff contention and were reduced to playing the role of spoiler on Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals.
The good news is that the 49ers played the role well. San Francisco emerged from Week 16's action with a 20-12 victory and complicated things for the playoff-hopeful Cardinals.
While there hasn't been much to praise this season, NFL legend Jerry Rice is excited about his former team's future. He feels the 49ers have a strong receiving nucleus with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle. It's difficult to argue with Rice after hearing his excitement surrounding things to come.
"Man, it's going to be exciting to see Deebo Samuel and also Brandon Aiyuk really work together [when] Deebo is healthy and all that," Rice said Monday morning on 95.7 The Game's The Morning Roast. "And it was good to see George Kittle get back on the field."
Rice loved watching the aggressive Kittle doing Kittle-type things against the Cardinals. The tight end finished the game with four catches for 92 receiving yards in his first action since Week 8.
"I was watching George Kittle catch the ball, and he's looking for somebody to hit," Rice said. "He's got to seek someone out to run over or run into. So, it was great having him back on the field. With that tandem, when everybody's healthy, it's going to be exciting."
Rice was also asked to compare and contrast the 49ers' two young receiving stars — Samuel and Aiyuk.
"I think with Deebo Samuel, it's his physicality after he catches the football," Rice explained. "And Aiyuk is probably more of a guy that's going to be able to stretch the field just a little bit more. I want to see him make those more difficult catches over the middle because I think C.J. Beathard threw him one ball, it was like a dime, and he dropped it. But you go back, and you look at that film, you make that correction, and you just know next time you've got to make that catch.
"Like I said, both guys, they're a little bit different. Samuel is more physicality. I think Aiyuk is more of a stretching-the-field guy, and that's going to really bring fear to defenses."